Pound of Flesh
by MinisterSweetGoodKid
Summary: Another oneshot during the Simba and Zira's first confrontation in the second movie. This will, hopefully, answer some questions about Zira's banishment to the Outlands.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Lion King or any of its characters. They belong to Disney.

**Author's Note: **Okay, after some good reviews from my last one shot, I present a new one. I only hope it hasn't been done yet, so here it goes.

The brown cub prepared to crouch for a play fight. He growled softly until he looked up in fright, a powerful and angry roar echoing through his ears. His heart skipped a beat and he saw that the lion was gold colored with a brilliant red mane. He couldn't move but another roar and a shadow over his body made him feel a bit at peace. He looked up at the body that gave him protection from this threatening lion. He sighed in relief. It was his mother. He quickly ran behind her, her hind legs keeping him safe. From his safe haven, he noticed the other cub, Kiara, had done the same. She hid behind the gold lion, afraid of the lioness. Kovu looked on scared and slightly curious. Due to their same colored coats, he mindfully assumed that large lion the father of Kiara.

The two adults growled, their roars done. They glared at each other, their red eyes showing hatred for the other.

"Zira," Simba said softly.

"Simba," Zira replied in the same softness, her face taking on a smile. She stretched her legs, claws out, wanting to strike when the growls of three other lionesses prevented her from doing so.

Standing behind Simba and his cub were two lionesses but some steps to his left stood his queen, Nala, and his insectivore friends, the warthog, Pumbaa and the meerkat, Timon. All five creatures, including Simba held angered stares but Simba and Nala's eyes held something deeper for the intruding lioness and her cub.

"Nala," Zira said, slightly disgusted.

"Zira," replied the queen.

"Timon, Pumbaa," the meerkat spoke. "Great, now that we all know each other GET OUTTA OUR PRIDELANDS!" he yelled.

Zira glared at the two animals. "_Your_ Pridelands?" She roared to them and Timon, scared, ducked and hid in Pumbaa's mane. She turned to Simba, her eyes showing no respect but defiance. "These lands belong to Scar!"

Simba was enraged at this. For as long as he lived, the Pridelands would never belong to Scar or anyone loyal to him, not even the lioness who stood before him now. He had returned to his home to reclaim it in the name of his father, the late King Mufasa and he was Mufasa's heir to the throne. His uncle had brutally killed his father in a stampede and near killed him by sending his hyena companions after him. Because of Scar's inexperience and letting hyenas into the Pridelands, the kingdom became a wasteland, the pride near starved due to the herds disappearing to search for greener lands. Scar refused to move the pride out and when Scar was betrayed by the hyenas, Simba took the throne, which some of the lionesses accepted but Zira had not. She refused to live under the lion that killed her mate and she refused to have her children grow with any cubs Simba would have by his mate, Nala.

In the king's mind, he remembered the invitation he gave to Zira in the few moments he had become the new leader of the Pridelands…

"_Zira, the king is here to see you," said a dark brown lioness, her lime green eyes showing disapproval that the young lion wanted to see the lioness she and some of her pride mates still considered queen._

_The desert lioness growled, her red eyes gleaming in the darkness. "Let him come." She looked down at her stomach where nestling at her side were two cubs, a light gold tan lioness and her twin brother, a dark brown lion. She smiled and nuzzled them but the approaching steps of the new king disturbed her peace and her still grief._

"_Zira," said the young lion. All he received was a soft growl. He sighed. "Zira, I know you're upset about Scar. He was my uncle but I did what I had to do. I gave him a chance but he wanted to fight instead. I offered him banishment with no strings attached. He could have left. You and some of the others could have gone with him. You could have found a good land to call your own. He could've been king there, your sons' princes and your daughter a princess. And you, you could've been a queen. You all could have lived in peace." He bowed his head, the strands of mane falling into his eyes. "But he didn't take it. I was hoping he would. He attacked me. I had no choice but to fight back."_

_He stepped closer but still wanted to keep some distance between them. His mother, Sarabi, told him that Zira could be dangerous if provoked. Grieving for her mate's death and him being there would provoke her but saying the wrong thing would provoke her as well. He tried again, choosing his words carefully. "Zira, Scar killed my father. He was letting the kingdom die. He was letting the hyenas have free roam. He would've let the pride starve to death-"_

"_He did none of those things," she replied in a still growl. She stared at Simba in defiance. "Scar was a good king. He had a brilliant mind and if your father hadn't been cruel to him…"_

_Trying to keep his own anger in control, Simba, his eyes on Zira, lied on the ground. It was a small while before he spoke. "My father must've given him many chances but Scar threw them away. He was jealous so he schemed. It worked. My father is dead and I would be too had he not saved me. But then the hyenas chased me out of the lands. I had almost forgotten who I was…" He trailed off and looked down, seeing the two cubs suckling at their mother's side. He smiled faintly. "Zira," he began again, his voice gentle. "Please, don't take the same path he did. Don't let your anger consume you. You must live. If not for yourself, live for them." He gestured to the cubs then looked around. "Where is your other son, Nuka?"_

"_He's around," Zira said, not caring. She hated her oldest son because he wasn't the heir Scar wanted. Nuka was born frail and weak. He looked like his father but didn't have his great mind. As far as she was concerned, Nuka didn't exist but when he came back to the cave in the early evening, he would exist but that didn't mean Zira loved him. Scar didn't so why should she? Her hope and Scar's chosen heir, was next to her, keeping warm along with his sister, who Zira named Vitani. The brown cub, called Kovu, would bring meaning to her life and possibly more._

"_I see. Well, you're welcomed to stay here Zira. Your cubs need a kingdom to play in and to grow in. They will have their chance to live as will you. Unlike my uncle I am not heartless. I care for my pride and my subjects so please, don't think less of that." Simba made his way out of the cave when a lioness approached him._

_Zira's ears rose. She heard what was being said. The new king's mate, Nala, had given birth to a son. "So Simba, you have an heir?" she spat. "I don't care what you say. The way I see it, you killed my love and left my children without a father. You took whom I loved with all my heart when you could've spared him. Watch yourself. Watch your mate and watch your son… it would be a pity if something happened to them…" Taking one last look at her cubs, she nudged Kovu and rested her head on her paws…_

"I banished you from the Pridelands," he said, walking up a bit. "Now you and your young cub, get out!" He pushed his face to hers, their eyes showing the hatred they had for each other.

Their cubs, however, grew fearful, their eyes looking on each other. If they were separated they wouldn't be able to play together, which was something neither wanted.

"Oh?" Zira said as she started to turn. "Haven't you met my son, Kovu?" She walked around her son. "He was hand chosen by Scar to follow in his paw prints and become a king." She stood over the cub, placing a foreleg of protection in front of him and smiled.

Simba growled.

Kovu felt the shadow of his mother move over him again, leaving him in the open. He looked up at the large lion, quivering in fear.

Timon scoffed. "That's not a king, that's a fuzzy maraca."

Zira spoke again. "Kovu was the last born, before _you_ exiled us to the Outlands where we have little food, less water." She had turned and walked, head low, shoulders hunched as she said this. But what she said was right. The Outlands were all but completely barren except for some bones lying around and a large rock like holding that kept her and her pride warm on the cold nights and cool during the day. But she hated it there as did her pride and she knew that they wanted so much to return to the Pridelands. Kovu and his sister Vitani would not remember living in the Pridelands as they were still young except for their brother Nuka. He had and everyday he missed the land of his birth. Zira, despite her cruel 'love' for her oldest son, she could not blame him. She grew up in the Pridelands. They were her home just as they the home of her cubs. They didn't belong in a land where nothing survived.

Simba glared angrily, the two lionesses behind him doing the same. They watched her every move. Simba spoke, his blood boiling. "You know the penalty for returning to the Pridelands!"

Zira whirled around and snapped at him. "But the child does not! However, if you need your pound of flesh…" She walked around Kovu and stood behind him. "…here…" she said, pushing his back with the bridge of her nose, allowing a surprised Kovu to scoot towards the king.

Kovu was still scared out of his mind and being moved against his frightened will towards a lion that had a terrible look of hate in his eyes not only for him but for his mother and his family was all he could bare. He trembled before the might of this gold lion, wondering what he was going to do now that his mother had all but offered him. In his mind, he prepared to await a coming death.

Simba looked at Zira then to the cub, his thoughts racing. It would be so easy to kill him that is if he were alone. If he made any move to strike the cub down would Zira leap in and protect him? It was a hard question but he didn't want to find out. Zira loved this cub in her own twisted way just as he loved Kiara but his love the love of a parent was unconditional. He loved his dear daughter just as he had loved her brother, his first born, his only son…

_The find was horrific and Simba, after being held in place for the longest time, ran out of the den and roared his sorrow._

_Inside the den, tears streaming down her face, Nala lowered her body to the ground and with a trembling paw, pulled the beaten body of her son close to herself. She nuzzled him, a side of her face smeared in bright red blood. The other lionesses, those loyal to the royals, bowed their heads in silence. The echo of Simba's roar filled their ears. Nala would have joined her mate but couldn't. She wanted to feel what warmth remained in her son's body for the last time._

_Simba finally came into the cave, tears still in his eyes. His heart pounded. His son was gone, possibly murdered. He approached his mother and laid his head on his shoulder. Sarabi turned her head and licked her son's muzzle, purring to try and calm him._

"_My son, mother… my son!" He shut his eyes tightly, the tears still falling. His legs trembled and he fell, the lionesses watching._

_Sarabi lied down next to him. The King sobbed in his mother's shoulder and Sarabi looked on with a few tears but not many. Her son was in a state of pain and suffering._

_Simba's whole body shook violently. Again, he lost someone close to him. Losing his father had been bad enough but he was a cub then, still too young to truly understand death but that day he had and again, he experienced it again. He thought that when he became king, everything would be alright. Was he meant to suffer more losses throughout his life? Who would be next? Would it be Nala, the one lioness who meant everything to him? Without her, he wouldn't be in the Pridelands and they would still be under the rule of Scar. Or would his mother, the last remaining relative of his family? It was an all too painful a thing to think about and Simba just cried, his own grief matching that of his mate's._

_The lionesses mourned quietly for the cub who would be their future king. Nala buried her head in her son's fur, unable to look upon her mate. Kopa had been a good cub, kind and curious, something all cubs possessed. He never hurt anyone so why would someone hurt him? It didn't make sense to any of them. _

_Emotionally exhausted Simba moved from his mother's side and over to Nala's. The queen put her head in her mate's mane and Simba wrapped an arm around her. Their pain wasn't gone and wouldn't be for a long while. The sun had already set but no one was hungry. Silence lingered in the cave. No one spoke. The atmosphere was cold, almost haunting._

"_Who could've done this Simba?" Nala asked her voice in a chilling whisper._

_Simba turned and licked her head, purring. His heart still pounded but his eyes had something different about them. They were on fire, a fire of hatred. There were many who were not sure of his ruling in the Pridelands but many of the Pridelander lionesses supported him and encouraged him. The animals were not so trusting to him, even if he was the son of Mufasa but to them, he was a rogue who had taken a tyrant from the royal throne but when Kopa was born and presented, their minds were changed. The Pridelands had an heir of true royal blood._

_At last, he spoke. "I don't know Nala, but whoever did this terrible crime will not be let off easy." He snarled softly, his eyes snapping, showing nothing but pain and hate. He put his head on the ground but neither he nor Nala could tear their eyes away from their lifeless son. Without an heir the Pridelands would not live in good leadership. Simba shut his eyes. "Father, what have I done to deserve this? Please, help me!" he said quietly so as not to wake his mate, who had fallen asleep a few moments ago._

_As the night fell, the pride still mourning, some of the lionesses unable to sleep but occupied to not pay attention, they failed to notice a lioness leaving the den and heading to the lower cave of Pride Rock where sat another group of lionesses but they were anything but in mourning. She approached them and bowed to another lioness with desert colored fur, red eyes, a notch in her right ear and a desert stripe going along her head to her shoulder blades._

"_Zira, what if Simba suspects one of us who killed his son? What if he suspects you? This spells the end for all of us!" said a lioness in fear, her pride sisters agreeing._

_Another spoke. "Zira, we don't like Simba any more than you do but at least he was merciful when he came back. At least he's allowed us to stay here. If you really did kill the cub why would you? You're a mother…" She paused, afraid to say more._

_Zira, after hearing some of their takes on the day's events, let out a breath and spoke. "Don't worry. I have done no wrong. That Simba comes here after so many years and thinks he's the king just because his father was? Well, Scar was the son of a king but that made no difference. He was still treated as an outcast by his father and his brother. In my eyes Scar did what was right by killing Mufasa. You all know how picky he was and how he liked things to be just so?" Simba is just like Mufasa in all ways. Just as Mufasa would've gotten rid of Scar, Simba did." She paused and smiled to her friends. "And you have helped me through my grief. Simba did kill Scar though not by his own paws but he did send him over the high stone of Pride Rock to the hyenas' jaws." She growled. "Those pathetic mongrels and Simba wanted him gone! Through Simba, the Pridelands may have had an heir but what he forgot was that Kovu had already been anointed. Scar wanted it that way because my Kovu looked so much like him." She glanced in the direction where her son and his sister slept, watched over by her oldest son, Nuka._

_The other lionesses turned their eyes as well, some nodding, others not sure. They fell asleep, wondering about what the future had in store for them._

_They found out the next morning. Though he couldn't prove it, but somehow he knew. Simba declared that Zira, her cubs and her followers be exiled to the Outlands and if they returned they would be killed for trespassing._

_She was angry with him and wanted to kill him but Simba was still a young lion where she was no longer a young lioness. She had grown old but not old enough where she couldn't find. Watching her pride, she faced the lion._

"_One day Simba, you will pay for your crimes against me. Scar will be avenged. My son Kovu will spill your blood as you spilt Scar's. He will be the next rightful king of the Pridelands!" Her fury was still there and she let out a tremendous roar that shook the ground but Simba was unmoved by it._

_She turned and went towards her son, picking him up by his back. Simba watched, seeing a soon to be dead innocence in the cub's eyes. His own son was gone and nothing could bring him back. He couldn't risk having more of his family die at this vengeful lioness's paws. He felt that exile was the only thing he could do…_

_He looked up to the sky. "Father, have I done the right thing?"_

Simba noticed that Zira was smiling. He looked down at the cub again, his worry beginning to build but he found his voice. "Take him and get out." He turned. "We're finished here." He walked towards Kiara who lowered herself to the floor of the dirt. He gently picked her up by the scruff of the neck. He would've moved, to leave the sight but Zira's voice stopped him and caused him to side turn her way.

"Oh no Simba," said the lioness, coming to him. "We have barely begun." She put her eyes to Kiara and chuckled evilly.

Simba just stared at her, unable to speak with his daughter in his mouth. He could only watch as Zira moved from him to her son, taking him not by the scruff but by his back, causing the cub to grunt a bit in pain. When their cubs were in their mouths the two parties walked away from each other.

Simba walked in one direction toward the Pridelands, Nala by his side, the two lionesses along with Timon and Pumbaa going ahead and Zazu flying above. Zira turned to return to her banished home in the Outlands alone. Neither party heard their cubs speak their last words to one another.

"Bye," Kiara whispered.

"Bye," Kovu whispered in reply.


End file.
